Undertaker: The Reckoning
by Undertaker-GhostMan
Summary: By day, he is Mark Calaway, simple mechanic. But by night, he becomes the supernatural vigilante known to the world as the Undertaker. Now, he faces an enemy who has a sinister plan to destroy him, and take his city with him.
1. Chapter 1

Name: The Undertaker

Real Name: Mark Calaway

Other Aliases: Mark Graves, Mark Black, Mark Tombs

Hair: Black

Eyes: Green

Occupation: Mechanic

Relatives: Kane (half-brother, incarcerated), Mother (deceased), Father (deceased), Jezebel (half-sister, whereabouts unknown)

Allies: Maria Kanellis (girlfriend), Ashley Massaro (ex-girlfriend, friend), Mideon (friend-deceased)

Enemies: Mankind, Mankind II, Paul Bearer, James Mitchell, Kane, the Boogeyman, Abyss, Papa Shango, Mordecai, Gangrel, Viscera, Daffney, the Executioner

Powers: Immortality, teleportation, super strength and speed, darkness manipulation, able to possess others, expert at black magic

Skills: Expert at hand-to-hand combat, mastermind, good detective skills

History: When Mark Calaway was a child, a fire took the lives of him and his parents. However, something brought him back from the dead and gave him demonic powers, most notably the ability to return after being killed. Now he seeks to found out who or what killed his parents, as well as protect the innocent from the supernatural forces of evil.


	2. Mark Calaway

Mark Calaway never thought of himself as a complicated person. There were only a few things he had ever needed in his life. A good job, a girl to come home to, and a bike. That was it.

He had a good job. He was a mechanic at Custom Expressions. Sure, it didn't pay much, but it was a way of making money, he got to do something he was good at, and they didn't ask questions about his background. That, he didn't need at all.

He had a good girl. Her name was Maria Kanellis, and he had met her when she had brought her car in to get fixed. He had just gotten out of a tumultuous relationship with his previous girlfriend, and then came Maria. They had hit it off quite well, and within the month, they were a couple. Sure, she was ditzy, and could be quite dense at times, but she was still cool to hang around with, and she was very understanding. Mark wasn't one to be picky.

And he had a bike. He and that bike had been through all kinds of shit together. It had taken him all over the country, and when one was on the run as much as he was, it was important to have a bike he could depend on. At any given time, there were a number of people after him. Some were government, but most of them were… something else.

But for now, Mark had found a place where he could settle down. As long as he kept off the radar, as he had been, and as long as he didn't use a lot of credit cards, as he hadn't been, he would be fine. He had been in this city for a couple years now, and so far, he'd been doing fine. Well, during the day at least.

So for now, Mark was concentrating on his work, looking forward to going home, and maybe calling Maria to see how she was doing. He wished he could take her out on a date tonight, but his "night job" prevented him from doing so. He made a mental note to take her out for breakfast in the morning.

A beeping noise jarred him out of his thoughts. According to his watch, it was finally time to punch out.

LATER…

Mark sat in his apartment, flipping through channels. There were no fights tonight, no good movies to watch, and nothing else on. He checked the time.

6:39 PM.

Mark went to the refrigerator and checked his charts. Now that they were in the middle of winter, the sun should be setting sometime soon than usual, which meant that night would be approaching soon. He should start getting ready.

_It was like going to sleep, when the Darkness takes over. The world goes hazy, and Mark begins to lose all sense of consciousness. It was as if someone, or something, else was remote controlling his body. In a trance, he goes to the closet and picks up the backpack, took out the costume. The familiar black outfit, the black boots, the black gloves, the belt, the black hood and the cape and of course, the mask, all of it, it felt like walking into another world. By the time he's finished putting on the costume, he is no longer Mark Calaway. He is the Undertaker, the supernatural vigilante, and now, it was time to go to work._


	3. Shango

**Author's Note:** This story is based on Batman, obviously, so I based some of the villains you'll see in this story on actual Batman villains. See if you can guess which one is which.

The stars were out in full force tonight, but there were very few people on the streets. It made things easier of for the criminal element to do what they were accustomed to without fear of the police. Of course, it helped that the police were to overworked and understaffed to patrol the streets effectively, anyhow. And of course, they were completely clueless about what really went on in the city.

The police were completely unaware that there were certain people that were more than just mere humans. Papa Shango was one of those people. The police department knew that he was a career criminal, but they were completely oblivious as to the nature of his crimes. And even if they did know, they were absolutely powerless to stop him.

Shango adjusted his top hat, and with but a thought, the mind-controlled henchmen he had acquired tonight sped up their search for the item he was looking for. He had already ordered them to do away with the guards, and now the National History Museum was his. And somewhere in this museum was an item that would allow him to increase his voodoo powers a thousand-fold. It would allow him to control cities, even states and countries full of people, instead of just whoever happened to be in his area.

It had taken years to master his voodoo powers, and even longer to apply them to his criminal trade, but luckily it had paid off. Well, at least it would have, had it not been for…

CLANG!

A loud banging interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up. He saw nothing, but he knew he had heard a noise. With a motion from his hand, he ordered one of his human drones to check out the noise. The slave gave a silent nod, and headed in the direction of the disturbance. Another wave of Shango's hand, and the other drones went back to their search.

Suddenly, there was a scream and a slam. This time, Shango saw a dark shape move quickly across the ceiling. An all-too-familiar shape.

"No, no, NO!" Papa Shango screamed, and made a motion with his hand. At once, the drones stopped, and reached for the firearms Shango had supplied them with earlier. Shango made some more hand motions, and the slaves spread out to search for the intruder. Shango stayed behind, at a vantage point where he could survey the museum and see what was going on.

For a few minutes, there was silence. Then, shots rang out. Then, more shots. Then suddenly, a firefight had erupted. Shango slowly crept toward the area where the shooting was, taking care not to be seen, lest he catch a stray bullet, or become the target of the man who had now infiltrated the museum. A body went flying past him, and he could see that the drones were spread out all over the museum, but none of them seemed to have any clue as to what they were shooting at, or where their target was.

Suddenly, a dark figure leapt down from the ceiling onto one of the drones, taking him out of play. The drones opened fire on it, but the figure moved faster. Shango crept back among some of the museum displays, making sure he was not seen. He needed to find an escape route now, while the figure was pre-occupied with his drones.

Another scream, and another body went flying. Shango now noticed that the shooting was getting quieter. His army was failing him. Now was the time to take flight.

Shango head towards the back of the museum, but was unable to find the loading dock from which he and his drones had entered. He had not taken the time to get a lay of the land when he had come in, and now he was lost.

And now the shooting had stopped completely.

Shango looked around, trying to find something that looked familiar, and he did.

The familiar dark figure was now creeping its way towards him.

"Stay back, demon!" Shango screamed, and pulled a gun. He shot the figure three times.

The figure did not slow down. It didn't even flinch as the bullets hit it.

Now the ghostly figure was coming into Papa Shango's view, although it was not as if Shango hadn't seen it many times before.

It was a man, dressed completely in black. He had on a long black cape, atop which sat a black hood. And within that black hood was a black Phantom-like mask, from which only the mouth and chin were visible. More noticeable, however, was the strange cross-like symbol on the man's chest, a symbol that resembled a T and an X combined into one character. Yes, Papa Shango knew this man quite well.

"Undertaker" Shango spat.

The Undertaker did not speak, but merely continued his path towards Shango, as he shrunk back.

"I said stay back!" Shango yelled, and suddenly veered to the left. The Undertaker did not seem surprised by Shango's action, but merely took off after him as Shango ran. To anyone who could not see that well, it would have appeared as if the Undertaker was floating after Shango, he was moving that fast. Shango ran through the museum, until he found what it was he needed. His voodoo staff, which he had left at the entrance while he was supervising his drones.

Shango grabbed the staff, and, after uttering a voodoo chant, slammed the staff to the ground, just as the Undertaker came into view.

A wave of magic energy emanated throughout the museum, but the Undertaker was unaffected by it.

Which would have been fine had the wave been intended for him.

There was a rumbling throughout the museum, and then, suddenly, there was a cacophony of noise throughout the building. The Undertaker turned around, just in time to see an Egyptian statue behind him move. The statue raised its arm, then smashed through the glass display case that house it. Everywhere else in the museum, similar displays were demonstrating similar capabilities, and soon, the Undertaker was surrounded by statues from all eras. Egyptian, Civil War, Native American, African, and many more statues that were once standing stock-still in glass cases were now circling him, preparing to attack.

Shango gave a hoarse laugh, and then settled himself atop a nearby crate to enjoy the show. True, he could be using this time to affect his escape, but he longed to see his voodoo bring about the end of the Undertaker.

The Undertaker blocked an African spear thrust at him, then snapped the spear in two, then punched a hole through the statue. Yes, the statue was a valuable antique and irreplaceable, but the Undertaker was not a simple civilian. He was a demon, an entity in a human body, and such matters did not concern him. His only concern was putting an end to Shango's evil, right here and now.

The Undertaker hard and fast, not caring who or what he was hitting (or how much it cost), but he needed to disperse this crowd, and he needed to do it before Shango realized he was about to lose again and fled.

As it stood, it had indeed begun to dawn on Papa Shango that this effort was about to go the way of all the other efforts he had taken against the Deadman, and was already looking for an expert. The Undertaker was still distracted with his statues, so he made his way towards the front. If he couldn't find the loading dock, he would just go out the front door. He could handle the cops a lot easier than he could handle the Undertaker.

As he was heading towards the door, something hard and cold wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down. Shango looked down to realize that a steel chain had hampered his escape, and at the other end of the chain was the Undertaker, who was surrounded by pieced of broken antiques, and was now dragging Shango back towards him.

Shango raised his staff again, but the Undertaker reached into his belt and from it, launched a small, silver knife-like blade. The blade sliced through Shango's fingers, causing him to release his staff. The immense pain he was in consumed his mind, rendering him unable to think up a spell or concentrate on anything else. Shango cried out, and then looked up, just in time to see the black fist of the Undertaker fly into his face, and then, nothing.

*****

The police burst in through the front doors of the museum, to a museum full of broken cases, pieces of statues, several unconscious civilians, several guns, several bullet casings, a weird stick on the ground, and, suspended from the ceiling, a strange man in face paint and a colorful outfit hanging by his feet from a chain.


	4. Breakfast

"…and in today's news, career criminal Charles Wright, commonly known as Papa Shango, was found unconscious in the National History Museum, where it is believed he was trying to break in and steal valuable items. He is said to have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the antiques, and he will be sent back to prison sometime today. In other news…"

"Mark?"

Mark looked away from the TV above him, now that the news of his nocturnal exploits was over.

"Are you okay?"

Mark looked at his girlfriend Maria, trying to get his head back into the real world. They were having breakfast at the Denny's near Mark's apartment.

"I'm fine" he said. "Just watching something on the news."

Maria looked up to where Mark had been looking, but now there was something else about Angelina Jolie or something or other.

"What was it about?" she asked.

Mark shook his head.

"Nothin', really" he replied. "They found some guy in a weird outfit trying to break into the museum."

"Really? What happened to him?"

"Not sure. They found him unconscious. Not the first time either."

Maria looked at the newspaper Mark had been rifling through.

"It's just, you seem really interested in stories like that" she noted.

Mark shrugged again.

"I don't know. Just have a fascination for the bizarre, I guess."

In reality, he just wanted to make sure he hadn't done anything tremendously stupid last night. As it stood, he had already destroyed priceless antiques. Luckily, they were pinning the blame on Papa Shango. But Mark really wished the Undertaker would be more careful when running around in his body. After all, he didn't need 'Taker doing something that could be traced back to him, or to Maria, for that matter. He had tried hard for years to keep his two personalities separate, to keep the Undertaker as far away from his civilian life as possible. After all, not only did he not want the authorities tracking him down, but he also needed to keep Maria safe. He didn't need something strange being traced back to him, because then the government would be all over this place, and then he would have to run again and start over somewhere else.

So far, they had no idea how Shango ended up the way he did, and they weren't going to believe a word Shango said when he came to. They never did. They didn't believe him when he claimed he had voodoo powers, and they weren't going to believe that he had been busted by a ghost or a demon, or whatever it was Shango thought the Undertaker was. So far, Mark was safe.

"Mark?"

"Huh?"

"You're drifting again" Maria said, a look of concern on her face.

"Sorry. My mind's all over the place today."

"What's wrong? Is it a work thing?"

"You could say that" Mark replied. "I've just been really busy, that's all. I hardly get any time to myself."

"Maybe you should ask for time off" Maria suggested.

"Not an option. My boss would never allow it" Mark said. "You could say he's a real…"

Mark was cut off by something on the TV.

"…that another body has been found. This makes the fifth victim this week. The police now believe this to be the work of a serial killer, but have no leads as to who he or she is, or where they may be. But our prayers go out to the families of…"

Mark felt in his soul, the strange feeling he got when the Undertaker was trying to tell him something.

"Mark!"

Mark came out of it, and noticed Maria looking at him, an annoyed expression on her face. Apparently, she had been trying to get his attention for quite a while.

"Sorry, I gotta go the bathroom. I'll be right back." Mark got out of his seat, as Maria stuttered in protest.

Mark got to the bathroom and, after checking to make sure there was no one else there, looked at the mirror and said one simple word: "What?"

A face looked back at him, and to an innocent bystander, it would have appeared to be Mark's own reflection. But this reflection had glowing green eyes, and it appeared in the mirror was located in another dimension.

"Those murders this week. We need to address them" the reflection said in a low, guttural voice.

"You mean, YOU need to address them" Mark said. "By the way, nice job in the museum last night. Next time, can you just destroy the whole place and just let them know it was me?"

The Undertaker ignored Mark's off-hand comment.

"I have a hunch as to who is committing these murders. We put a stop to them, tonight."

Mark sighed.

"So why are you telling me this? Get to it, then."

"I need you to figure out where the killer is. There are clues that the authorities have missed. You need to find them."

"So you want me to play detective again?"

"Yes. You're in the real world. I'm not. Therefore, you need to solve this, and then I will deal with the murderer."

"And I assume you know who it is?"

"I believe this to be the work of Abyss. I understand he has escaped prison again, and is lashing out."

"And why would he be doing that?" Mark asked.

"I do not know, nor do I care. I just know we stop him, which means you need to find out where he is" the Undertaker replied.

Mark let out a breath.

"Fine. But when you take him down, make sure you're more careful. I didn't need your shit getting into my life."

Once again, the reflection ignored his comment, and simply drifted away, leaving Mark staring at his normal reflection.

Mark walked out of the bathroom, and headed back to his and Maria's booth.

"Is everything alright?" Maria asked. "You were in there a long time. I was about to come and get you."

Mark smiled.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's finish our breakfast. There are some things I need to take care of."

ELSEWHERE…

The man sat in the boiler room, staring at the leather mask in his hands.

Soon, it would be time.

He looked around, remembering when his predecessor had been here. But his predecessor was dead, thanks to the demon. Thanks to the Undertaker.

The Undertaker had killed his predecessor and sent him to Hell, as he had done to the man himself.

But now, the man had been released from Hell. Now, he could take up the mantle of his predecessor, and he would succeed where his predecessor had failed.

He would take up the mantle of Mankind.

And he would put an end to the Undertaker.

The man put on the leather Mankind mask, and then he put on his trench coat. He had an arduous task ahead of him, and if he was going to draw out the Undertaker, he would need to put his plan into effect immediately.

Mick Foley was dead. Now this man was the new Mankind.

And he would take his revenge against the Undertaker for the crimes the demon had committed against him. And then he would make the Undertaker… rest in peace.


	5. Abyss

To a normal human being, the sewers were the most unbearable place to be. The darkness, the smells, the strange noises that made one's imagination go wild as to what could be creeping in the dark- no sane person would be walking around down here.

For the Undertaker, however, it was just another job. And, when he thought about it, he had been in places far worse than this during his lifetime. As it happened, this wasn't even the first time he'd been down here. And the reason he was down here was far worse than any smell.

The human Calaway had apparently tracked his quarry down to this specific section of the sewers, and now the Undertaker was here to put a stop to its murder spree. However, this would not be an easy task, as the creature known as Abyss was not an easy opponent.

Although he had no fear in him, the Undertaker did not relish the thought of tangling with Abyss again. The monster has freakishly abnormal strength, and a tolerance of pain he had seen in only a handful of other people. That, plus the fact that he reminded him of two of his worst enemies, Mankind and Kane, did not help things.

And yet, here he was, hunting through this section of the sewers in search of the monster, who could be hiding anywhere. The sewers were Abyss's domain, and he knew them a lot better than the Undertaker. Here, Abyss had the home field advantage.

The Undertaker made his way through the sewer pipes, keeping his senses alert for anything out of the ordinary, but so far, he had found no sign of Abyss. There was nothing here but rats scurrying around and water dripping. Perhaps the human Calaway had been mistaken…

A loud roar suddenly sounded throughout the sewers. Abyss was now aware that he was not alone. The Undertaker stayed still, trying to pinpoint where the monster could be, but he was not sure where the roar had originated from.

He saw a shape move underneath the sewer water. The Undertaker gave chase, following the shape until he caught up with it. He reached down and pulled it up.

It was an alligator, and a huge one at that. The Undertaker recalled the human urban myth about alligators in the sewers, but he had never actually expected to find one. The alligator snapped its jaws at him, but the Undertaker simply clamped an arm around its jaw and threw it back into the water.

WHAM!

He came from behind, taking advantage of the Undertaker's distraction to land a clubbing blow to the back of his head, and now Abyss had grabbed the Undertaker's cape and was pulling him down into the water.

The Undertaker had little time to react as Abyss pulled him down. He had no need to worry about drowning. He didn't breathe, so he would be fine. Having to fight Abyss in this water, however, was another matter entirely. Even with his superior vision, he could barely make out anything down here. The Undertaker grabbed his cape and used it to find Abyss's hand. He then followed his hand up to his arm, and then lashed out where his head should be. The monster did not let go, but simply grabbed the Undertaker in a reverse bearhug and continued to drag him down.

With his arms pinned, the Undertaker knew he needed to try another tactic. He closed his eyes, and, summoning the dark powers within, emanated an electric shock from the core of his body. Abyss did not expect this, of course, and released the Undertaker as he shrank back in pain. The Undertaker swam back upward as fast as he could, trying to put as much distance between himself and Abyss before the giant recovered and dragged him back.

The Undertaker leapt out of the water and made his way to a nearby sewer platform, searching around for any sign of Abyss. The giant was still under the water, perhaps trying to get his bearings back before making another attack.

The Undertaker stayed silent, waiting, until he could make out a blur in the water. The Undertaker readied one of his blades, but before he could pull it, Abyss leapt from the water and charged into him with a speed that the Undertaker had never known him to possess. Abyss slammed the Undertaker into the sewer wall, than launched him over his head and lunged him back into the water. Before the Undertaker hit, he let loose with his chain, and managed to grapple a steel pipe overhead. Abyss jumped back into the water as the Undertaker quickly made his way up the grappled chain. Abyss surged forward and grabbed the other end of the chain and yanked it down, but the Undertaker had already let go, and dropped on top of Abyss.

His boots struck Abyss's head, and the monster went back underwater. The Undertaker followed him down and grabbed his head. Unlike the Undertaker, Abyss DID need to breathe, and though he had proven that he could hold his breath for an unusually long time, it was not infinite. All the Undertaker had to do was keep Abyss down there and wait him out.

Unfortunately, Abyss had other ideas. His head came back to slam into the Undertaker's, then grabbed the Undertaker's arm, yanked him forward, then propelled him out of the water. The Undertaker only had a moment to recover as he went upward, then back down, hitting the water again.

The Undertaker knew that if he was to have any chance of beating Abyss, he needed to take this fight out of the sewers. The Undertaker launched his chain again, but Abyss was back. He grabbed onto the Undertaker's leg and pulled, but this time the Undertaker didn't let go. He kicked Abyss off, and then kicked him again, before climbing up the chain. An enraged Abyss was now right on his tail as the Undertaker continued to make his way up.

The Undertaker was headed toward the sewage plant he had used to get into the sewers, where he could gain a better advantage over the monster who was slowly but surely making his way after the Undertaker. 'Taker made his way onto the ladder over the sewers, where the entrance to the plant was located. After making sure Abyss was still following him, the Undertaker climbed up the ladder, then made his way into the plant. He took note of the millions upon millions of pipes that ran through the building, as he heard Abyss climbing up the ladder.

The Undertaker waited for Abyss to barge his way through the hatch, then into the plant, before dropkicking Abyss's leg out from under him. Abyss slipped on the ladder and nearly released his hold, but he managed to hang on. The Undertaker grabbed Abyss's shirt and yanked him back into the plant, taking advantage of the giant's surprises to land a series of punches to Abyss's face.

Abyss, however, was able to recover, and held a hand to catch the Undertaker's fist mid-punch, then, with a hard kick, launched the Undertaker into one of the pipes. 'Taker was taken aback as Abyss came charging into him, then slammed into him, carrying him through many of the pipes as he charged forward. The Undertaker managed to get his senses back, and launched his chain once again. He wrapped his legs around Abyss's mid-section as the chain pulled taut, and let the giant's momentum do the rest.

Abyss tripped up and was thrown back, then hit the ground with a hard thump. The Undertaker pulled his chain back to him, then threw it again, this time wrapping to around the throat of Abyss, who was getting back up. The Undertaker yanked the chain, and, using his supernatural strength, pulled Abyss of the ground and into the nearest pipe. Abyss's head slammed into the pipe, creating a dent, and then 'Taker yanked the chain again, and again, and again. He slammed the monster into the ceiling, then the floor, then several more pipes, refusing to give the giant any chance to recover. Each time Abyss moved, the Undertaker yanked the chain again, propelling him into a wall or a pipe until, finally, Abyss was no longer moving. The Undertaker made sure that Abyss was completely out, and then used the chain to tie Abyss to one of the pipes. There would be a special unit coming to pick Abyss up, and they would have the facilities necessary to get him back to his prison cell. As the Undertaker made his way out of the plant, he realized that they would not be able to keep him there. They never could. But when Abyss did escape again, the Undertaker would be there waiting for him.


	6. A Normal Life

The alarm went off, waking Mark Calaway from an uneasy slumber. He got up and went to his bathroom and looked in the mirror. He looked like hell.

Mark noticed a few scars on his chest, apparently from his activities the night before. He silently wished that the Undertaker would be more careful when joyriding around in Mark's body. Except that every time he brought it up during their conversations, the demon simply ignored him. What did it care? It was just an entity. What happened to Mark's body did not concern it.

Mark went back to his bedroom and got ready. He had work in a couple hours.

LATER…

"Hey, did you hear what happened?" Big Eddie asked as he came up to Mark.

"No" Mark stated simply, not taking his eyes from the car he was working on.

"They found that murdering freak, the one who broke out of prison a couple days ago. He was trussed up in a sewage plant."

"Fascinating" said Mark, still concentrating on his work. He already had a good idea of what happened.

It made him somewhat nervous when he woke up every morning, recalling the previous night's events even though he hadn't personally been there. It was just his body, but he could still see what was happening.

It was an unusual experience, when the Undertaker took over. It was as if someone was carjacking him, and stuffing him in the trunk while they rode around in the car. He remembered everything the Undertaker did, but he saw them as if he were in a dream. They were hazy, as if he was seeing them through a foggy window, but he remembered everything that happened.

Now, however, it was over. It was 9:00 in the morning, not 11 at night, and for now, Mark could concentrate on being Mark. He could try to exercise a normal life, with a normal job, a normal girlfriend, and a normal backstory as to where he had come from. For now, he could be normal.

At least until the Undertaker slipped up again, and the government came hunting. And then he would have to run. Again.

He was used to it. It shamed Mark to admit it, but he was used to being on the run, dropping his whole life at the drop of a hat in order to escape. It had been that way for years.

Yeah, the Undertaker may have been an urban legend, but Mark Calaway was a very real wanted fugitive. It was just another side effect of being the unwilling host of the Undertaker. He ended up taking the blame for some of the Undertaker's messes, and 'Taker could make some pretty big messes. It was Mark who had to take the heat for the things the Undertaker broke, or, more importantly, the people the Undertaker killed. Because no one was going to believe that Mark was possessed by a demon at night and therefore was not responsible for the deaths the Undertaker caused.

For now, however, he could stop running, even for a little bit. Mark had to take comfort in little things like that. It was all that he had to keep him sane. His life, his job, and Maria. He had to take comfort in having these, because the Undertaker had ruined everything else in his life.

For now, he could just concentrate on being normal…

ELSEWHERE…

The blueprints for the penitentiary had been easier to retrieve than Mankind had first thought. It seemed strange. After all, these blueprints would help him to achieve the most important part of his plan.

There was someone in the prison that would allow Mankind to take his revenge against the Undertaker. He had analyzed all of the Undertaker's foes, and had decided that this was the one who would serve his purpose. After all, Mankind's predecessor Mick Foley had worked with this man before, so he knew what he was capable of. All he had to do was get him out of prison, aim him at the Undertaker, then stand back and watch him do his work. Then Mankind would come in and pick up the pieces of the fallen Deadman.

He would need to recruit an army, and he knew just where to get the soldiers. He would go to the same place Foley had gone to get his henchmen. Then he would break this man, this monster, out of prison. The monster would go after the Undertaker, allowing Mankind to prepare himself for the task of ending the Undertaker's existence.

He didn't mind that the monster would be doing all of the work. After all, in his previous life, Mankind II had been the ultimate opportunist…

ELSEWHERE…

The Victorian Gardens were normally a festive place. All the tycoons and well-to-dos gathered there every night and partied the night away, discussing mergers, money, and whatever else rich people discussed. Normally, the place was alive with the sound of music, laughter, and chatter.

Not now.

Now, there was dead silence. Where there was once a festive air, now there was silence and stillness. And if anybody happened to wander by and look in window, they would not have believed what they saw.

There at least a hundred men and women, all well-dressed, but no one was moving. Every single one of them was standing absolute still, unable to move, unable to make a sound. It was as if they were frozen in ice, yet the temperature was completely normal.

And standing in the middle of this bizarre scene was a man in a bizarre armored suit, brandishing the most unusual gun ever seen.

"Aaah" the man said in a low guttural voice. "My experiment was a success. All you rich fools have finally served a purpose for once. Damien Demento thanks you."

The man aimed a pistol at one of the men, whose frozen expression preventing from expressing the utter fear in his heart.

"Now die…" Damien Demento said, and then he pulled the trigger.

**Next…** The Undertaker vs. Damien Demento!


	7. Damien Demento

Mark Calaway was resting on the couch after a hard day of work when he felt it. That strange buzzing in the back of his mind that let him know the demon wished to speak with him. He got off the couch, went to the bathroom, turned off the lights, and waited. Suddenly, the darkened image in the mirror shifted. The eyes of Mark's reflection turned to a neon green and its face darkened.

"Mark" the demon reflection acknowledged.

"What is it?" Mark asked. "I really wanted to go to sleep."

"No time" the demon said. "There is a situation of a supernatural nature somewhere outside the city. It requires our attention. So get the costume."

Mark let out a sigh and turned to leave.

"What about you?" he asked the reflection.

"It will be nightfall by the time you get there. I will be in control by then."

Mark sighed again, kissing his nap goodbye, and went to find his backpack.

ELSEWHERE…

Dr. Damien Demitri, a.k.a. Damien Demento, had managed to round up everyone in the building, and had now gathered them in the grand ballroom. He had not frozen everyone, as some of them would still prove useful for his experiments. He was still a scientist, after all, and he was not one to throw away potential test subjects.

Demento had succeeded in cutting off all communication within the building, and was calling for his men to transport him and his "guests" back to his lab. He had what he had come there for: test subjects in an isolated area that he could test his new weapons on. And now it was time to prepare them for the next stage of experiments.

Despite all that he had done to himself, or, as Damien would put it, all that others had done to him, he was a still a doctor and a scientist at heart. He still operated in the realm of science, although now he was interested in exploring the supernatural aspects of it. But in order to do that, he needed guinea pigs Now that he had that, all he had to do was get them back to his hideout before…

SMASH!

The skylight of the ballroom shattered in a shower of glass as the Undertaker came crashing through. His cape was fully extended as he dropped gracefully to the ground on front of Demento, he screamed out as he lifted his gun and fired. The Undertaker the strange beam that emanated from the gun, then moved in to disarm Demento. Demento moved out of the Undertaker's way and fired the gun again. Again the Undertaker dodged the blast, leaping over the beam to land a kick into Demento's mid-chest.

Demento fell back a couple of paces, and the Undertaker landed a hard right to his jaw, then another. He went for a third punch, but Demento caught him by the wrist and squeezed, trying to crush the Undertaker's wrist. The Undertaker used his feet to land a couple of body kicks to Demento's mid-section, and then landed a high kick to his head. Disoriented, Demento let go of the Undertaker's wrist, allowing the Deadman to put some distance between himself and the mad scientist. He went for a big boot to Damien's head, but he ducked it and grasped the Undertaker's throat. He lifted him up, attempting to rob him of oxygen, but the Undertaker brought both his feet up and nailed both sides of Demento's head. Demento was discombobulated, and once again released his hold on the Undertaker.

A couple of leaps put the Undertaker and Damien at a comfortable distance away from each other, allowing the Undertaker to think of his next strategy. He needed to get a clear hit on Demento's head and knock him out. That was the method he always used, and it had always worked. The problem was that with each fight, Demento made it harder and harder to get that shot in. From his appearance, he had upgraded his suit again, as he often did, and he was sporting a new weapon. The Undertaker wasn't quite sure exactly what this new gun did, but apparently it was able to freeze people. The Undertaker needed to know exactly how that worked, and if there was any hope of bringing the people that Demento had shot out of their unusual state. But first, he needed to concentrate on the here and now.

He needed to take him down.

As of now, Demento was bringing his gun up for another shot, and the Undertaker threw a couple of his blade. Both of them rang off the trigger, preventing Damien from firing, and the Undertaker closed the distance between them and grabbed the barrel of the gun. The Undertaker threw another kick to Demento's head, then another kick to Damien's forearm and wrenched the gun from his grasp.

He then struck Damien with the butt of the gun, and then swung the gun, cracking Demento across the jaw with the huge gun. Demento slumped down to one knee, holding his head in pain and looked up, a look of pure rage on his face. Apparently, Demento had finally realized that he was about to lose again. Demento looked up at the Undertaker, but the Undertaker, as usual, had no expression on his masked face. It was the last thing Demento noticed before the Undertaker cracked his skull hard with the gun, knocking him unconscious.

LATER…

The Undertaker had removed Demento's armor and trussed him up for the police to find. The Undertaker had decided to take the gun with him to study. Apparently, the effects of the beam Demento had used was temporary, as an hour later, many people had begun moving again. The Undertaker had averted a real crisis in this, because he knew Demento had had something more serious planned for them, and thankfully, the Undertaker had prevented him from carrying it out.

Just as the Undertaker was leaving, something sharp struck him in the back. The Undertaker yelled out in pain, and twisted his arm back to pull whatever it was out. It was a strange knife, yet it looked so familiar. 'Taker heard a noise and ducked down, just in time to avoid being hit by more blades. From the darkness, the Undertaker could see a strange-looking man charging him. 'Taker leapt to the side, and the man halted. He had a knife in each hand, which he began slashing at the Undertaker with.

The Undertaker dodged each of his attacks. The man was moving too fast for him to identify him, but he knew he had seen this fighting style before. The Undertaker blocked another slash and pinned the man's arm back, then used his other hand to grasp the man's throat. Now that he had a good look at him, the Undertaker could hardly believe what he was seeing.

It was Mankind.

Or, at least it looked like him. This was obviously a different man. He was younger and slimmer, but he wore the same mask and torn t-shirt and tie that Mankind did. Yet his outfit was different than Foley's had been. The man wore a black trenchcoat, camo tights with Mankind's insignia on them, and brown boots with kickpads. Also, his shirt and tie was black, which was different from Foley's outfit. Whoever this man was, he had done a good job of copying the original Mankind.

"Who are you?" the Undertaker demanded.

"I'm Mankind" the man said with a hoarse laugh.

"No, you're not" the Undertaker replied. "Mankind is dead."

"Mick Foley is dead. You saw to that" the man said. "I am his replacement."

The Undertaker had to stifle a laugh as he let the man go.

"Let me give you some advice, imposter. Stop this, or you will end up the same way he did."

The new Mankind shook his head as he laughed again.

"No, I'm afraid it is you who will meet a bad fate, Deadman. I will do to you what Foley could never do. I will put an end to you."

The man threw something at the Undertaker which went off with a violent flash. The Undertaker threw up his cape to shield his eyes, and when the bright light has dissipated, the man was gone. The Undertaker looked around, but the man had gone in a hurry. Whoever he was, he was fast.

The Undertaker cocked his head, contemplating this new situation. Foley had never found any apprentice, and this man apparently had a serious grudge against the Undertaker. Yet, 'Taker couldn't think of anyone who would go to this length to come after him.

So, Mankind was "back"? The Undertaker shook his head, making a silent vow to himself to send this imposter out the way Foley had gone.

Whoever this man was, he would be sorry he picked up this mantle.


	8. The Morning After

As the sun came up the next morning, Mark stirred from an uneasy slumber. The first thing he felt as he awoke was the sharp pain in his back where the knife had struck. He raced to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Apparently, the wound had not healed yet. Whoever that masked man was last night, he had not been carrying ordinary knives. A mere stab should have been nothing to the Undertaker, and this wound should have healed by now.

Yet somehow, the wound still burned as much as it did when the knife had found its mark in his back. As the Undertaker searched the kitchen for some peroxide and some bandages, he took some time to analyze the situation from last night. So far, he had not felt the tingling in the back of his mind. Apparently, the demon had no thoughts on the subject, otherwise it would be addressing him right now.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The Undertaker put a shirt on and went over to open the door. He then put on a smile when he saw Maria standing there.

"Hey, what's up?" he said.

"Nothin'. Today's Saturday, so I came over to see if you wanted to do something today. I thought we could… Are you alright?" she asked, noticing Mark wince in pain as he closed the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he said.

"What's that all over your shirt?" she asked, and before Mark could stop her, she lifted up the back of the shirt.

"My God, what is that?" she asked.

"It's nothing. It's was just a scar I got at work."

"And you didn't put a bandage on it?" Maria asked as she went to his bathroom and began rummaging around, as he had been doing just a moment ago.

"I didn't even notice it until this morning."

"That's a pretty big scar not to notice" Maria replied, coming out of the bathroom with the bottle of peroxide and a first aid kit. "If you'd waited longer, it could have become infected."

She directed Mark over to his couch and pulled his shirt off. She poured some of the peroxide on his back as he barely managed to keep from screaming out. This really was no ordinary wound. No way should it hurt this much.

"So what happened?" Maria asked, as she began stitching the cut.

"I backed into some dangerous equipment yesterday, and it cut me. I guess it went deeper than I thought."

"Deeper than you thought? Mark, this goes almost to the bone. Seriously, you didn't notice this before?"

"Well, it is on my back. How would I notice it?" Mark smirked.

"Mark, I'm being serious. This could have gotten infected, it's really deep."

Mark frowned as Maria continuing stitching him up. Bone deep? Just how hard had that man thrown the damn thing?

"Well, it's not infected" Mark said. "I'm sure I would know by now if it was."

"I'm just saying it could've been" said Maria as she finished up and began putting the materials back in the kit. "You really should be more careful when you're at work. You work with a lot of dangerous equipment, anything could happen to you."

"I know, I know" Mark stated dismissively as he put his shirt back on. He could still feel the wound, but now that it had been stitched, it didn't hurt as much as it did when he woke up.

As Maria went back to the bathroom, Mark made a few mental reminders to himself. First, he needed to find out just what kind of knife that was. He could research the design and figure it out from there. Second, he needed to make a list of known associates of Mick Foley. From what he'd remembered about Foley, there weren't many. And yet, there was a man out there who had taken it upon himself to emulate Foley's alter ego and come after the Undertaker. What was their purpose? Was he trying to avenge the original Mankind's death? Was he trained as a successor to Foley's mantle? Was it personal? Or was there some deeper answer to this whole thing? One way or another, Mark needed to find out.

ELSEWHERE…

The Sarven Institute of Dream Research was normally a quiet place. There were hundreds of patients and a few doctors, and it was a general policy to remain quiet on the premises for fear of waking the patients.

However, the building was currently alive with screams. Everywhere in the building, there were doctors and patients running scared or attacking each other. It would seem as if they were all… afraid of one another.

In an observation chamber at the center of the building, the chief doctor Alan Sarven cowered in a corner of the glass room, shaking in utter fear of the dark shape slowly creeping towards him. The doctor could not move, and could barely utter a sound as the strange man came towards him.

"P-p-p-p-p-please, sir" the doctor stuttered, struggling as hard as he could to get the words out. "If you'll j-j-j-ust get b-b-b-b-b-back on the b-b-bed, we can h-h-h-h-help you. Please, Mr. W-w-w-w-wright, we can…"

"**Wright**?" a fearsome voice echoed throughout the room as the man reached the doctor.

"**There is no Mr. Wright here. There is only… the Boogeyman!**"

The screams of Dr. Sarven could be heard throughout the building, until… there was once again silence.

TBC….


	9. The Boogeyman

The Sarven Institute of Dream Research was dark and quiet. Not a single light was on, despite the fact that it was 12:00 midnight. There was no sign of life, but the Undertaker could feel the presence of evil surrounding the building when he arrived. Worse yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was all a set-up, that some force was stringing him along like a scientist toying with a test rat.

Regardless, however, the Undertaker knew that something sinister had taken hold of the building and done something to the people inside, and it was up to the Deadman to find this evil and put an end to it. With that in mind, the Undertaker slowly opened the large front door and stepped into the building.

All the rooms inside were dark, and there was no sign that anyone was around. The Undertaker looked around the waiting area he had just entered, searching for signs of his target. The area was clean, no signs of violence or struggle. The Undertaker advanced slowly through the area, his senses alert for the first sign of a disturbance. He was now standing in a large hallway, staring at a door at the very end of it. Throughout the hall were various offices, but as the Undertaker searched each one for a clue as to what had happened, there was nothing out of the ordinary in any of them.

The Undertaker made it to the end of the hallway and opened the door. The inside of the room was completely dark, and even the Undertaker's supernatural vision was unable to penetrate the darkness. The Undertaker took a flashlight from his belt and turned it on, but the light did not extend any further than the doorway.

The Undertaker walked into the dark room and shut the door. Immediately after the door clicked shut, a light went on, and the Undertaker stared in near-shock at his surroundings. He was in a house now, not the dream institute. The house was old and had a gothic look to it, and, after giving the house another look, the Undertaker realized that he had seen this house before. It was Mark Calaway's childhood home.

The Undertaker had no idea how he had ended up here, but he continued to search the house for a way back to the institute. He was in the living room of Calaway's old house. He went to the front door, opened it, and walked through. But as he looked around, his jaw nearly dropped. He was in the exact same room he had just left. Just as the Undertaker realized this, the door slammed shut by itself, nearly causing 'Taker to fall over as the doorknob wrenched itself from his grasp. The Undertaker looked around the room for another way out, and then noticed the flight of stairs heading up, and decided to look upstairs to find another way out.

When he got upstairs, the Undertaker searched the rooms. There was no one in the house, and, aside from the fact that a minute ago this had been a dream institute, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

"Mark?"

The Undertaker spun around, searching for the source of the voice he had just heard. It sounded as though it had come from one of the rooms.

"Mark? Is that you?"

The voice was child-like, and seemed to be coming from Calaway's childhood room. The Undertaker went to the room and peeked inside. There was a child sitting in the room, his backed turned to the door. He appeared to be quite pudgy, and he was rocking back and forth on the wooden floor.

"Mark?" the boy asked again.

"Who are you?" the Undertaker demanded, ignoring the boy's question. "Where are we?"

The boy turned his head slowly, and upon closer inspection, the Undertaker realized he knew who this boy was.

"You're Kane" he stated simply.

The boy continued to stare at the Undertaker, a strange look on his face, but had yet to say anything else.

The Undertaker entered the room and stalked toward the boy, who continued to stare at him. As the Undertaker entered the room, the door slammed shut.

The Undertaker looked back at the door, then at the floor where the boy had been sitting, but he had now moved to the window.

The Undertaker stared at him, wondering how he had gotten up and moved so quickly, as the Undertaker had only turned away for an instant.

'WHO ARE YOU?" the Undertaker demanded again, and again, the boy said nothing. The Undertaker crossed the room, grabbed the boy, and turned him around…

…and nearly let out a scream.

The boy's faced had changed. He was now wearing bizarre facepaint, and now appeared to be growing within the Undertaker's grasp. In seconds, he had become a full-grown man. And in his hand, there now appeared a strange smoking staff. The man kicked the out of the Undertaker's grasp, and then struck him across the face with the back of his hand. He kneed the Undertaker in the solar plexus, causing him to fall to the ground, then kicked 'Taker across the room. As the Undertaker hit the door, he looked up to see that the man's transformation was now complete. He was now a full-grown adult, wearing leather pants, a big clock around his neck, and pointing his staff in the Undertaker's direction.

"**Good evening, Deadman**" the man said in a horrifying, guttural voice.

"Boogeyman" the Undertaker spat as he made his way to his feet. "This is a new trick for you, demon."

The man gave a laugh.

"**Did you enjoy your little mind trip, Deadman? Did this bring back memories for you? A troubled childhood moment, perhaps?**"

"How did you do this?" the Undertaker inquired. "How did you manage to get into _my_ head?"

"**I believe I'll save that for another time. As of now, we have a journey to continue!**"

The Boogeyman raised his staff, and the house began to crumble and fall away. Only the piece of floor that the Undertaker was standing on remained, as everything else seemed to be sucked into a vortex.

Now his surroundings had changed again, replaced by some horrid variation of Hell. The Undertaker looked around. He was now standing on a pillar, surrounded by various rock formations. The Boogeyman, however, was nowhere in sight.

The Undertaker leapt from the pillar to another one, trying to make it to the nearest cliff, all the while taking in his new environment.

This was not Hell, per say, because the Undertaker has seen Hell, but it was a close enough version of it. The skies were red, with angry red clouds flashing lightning down upon the Undertaker. Below him was a lake of fire, and every so often, the Undertaker could hear the tortured screams of some poor soul somewhere out of his visual range. The Undertaker made it to the cliff, and took a moment to think. He knew that the Boogeyman was capable of making one see things that weren't really there. But this was a whole new level for him, and his tricks had never affected the Undertaker before. One way or another, he needed to find the Boogeyman and find out how he had been able to do this.

Just as the Undertaker finished this though, the lake below began to boil and rise, as something huge began to emerge from it. It appeared to be a man, and it continued to rise until it towered over the Undertaker. As the lava began to fall away, the man revealed himself to be the Boogeyman, now over 100 feet tall, his eyes glowing red and his staff smoking in his hand.

The man let out a horrid laugh, which echoed all the way through the bowels of the faux-Hell, as his glowing eyes settled on the Undertaker. The giant Boogeyman then raised his fist, but the Undertaker moved out of the way as the fist came smashing down. He sprinted across the cliff, trying to escape the Boogeyman's reach, but the demon was far too large, and could see everything. The Undertaker would not be able to hide from him, nor could he escape, which meant he would need to come up with a new plan.

The Boogeyman continued to pound at the cliffside, trying to get his hands on the Undertaker, but the Deadman was too fast. However, 'Taker knew that he would not be able to keep this up for long. He was in the Boogeyman's world, and sooner or later, he would beat the Undertaker. He needed to figure out how he was doing this. He needed to find out how to get the Boogeyman out of his head. As far as the Undertaker could tell, this was merely an illusion, but as far as illusions go, this one was vivid. Too vivid. If he couldn't find a way to beat the Boogeyman, then he would be killed here, there was no question of that.

As he continued to dodge the Boogeyman's fists, he tried to think. How was he doing this? What was different this time? What could he have that was allowing him to pull this off? Then, in a flash, it came to him.

Of course. He should have noticed it before.

The staff.

In his earlier dealings with him, he had never known the Boogeyman to carry that staff with him. There was some dark magic in it, something there that was giving him more power. If he could get that staff away from him, he could purge the Boogeyman's influence from his mind.

The Undertaker grasped his chain from his belt, and then charged toward the giant Boogeyman. The demon shrank back, confused about this odd change of tactics. He reached out again, but the Undertaker leapt over his fist and onto his arm, and then sprinted up the demons arm toward his face, using his powers to lengthen the chain. He needed it long for the tactic he was planning.

The Boogeyman swatted at the Undertaker, as if he was a bug crawling on him, but the Undertaker was moving too fast. He had made it to the demon's shoulder, and was now wrapping the chain around his neck. He made sure the chain was taut, and then leapt from the Boogeyman's back, stretching the chain across his neck. The Boogeyman clawed at the chain, but the Undertaker summoned his dark powers, and soon the chain was aflame. The flames scorched the Boogeyman's neck, causing him to scream out in agony.

As the Boogeyman continued to struggle with the chain around his neck, the Undertaker was using the additional length of the chain to swing the Boogeyman's staff. He had needed the Boogeyman to be distracted, reeling from the pain so that he wouldn't notice the Undertaker making a move for the staff. 'Taker made it to the staff and began to crawl upwards, heading to the very top. He kept hold of the chain, tightening it each time the Boogeyman was about to yank it off.

As soon as he reached the top, the Undertaker took note of the strange rock that sat on the Boogeyman's staff. It was emitting a thick cloud of smoke, and the Undertaker could sense the dark magic emanating from it. He pulled his knife from his belt, just as the Boogeyman made a last ditch effort to get the chain of his neck. With a mighty pull, he yanked the chain off, pulling it out of the Undertaker's grasp in the process. The Boogeyman screamed out, staring at his burnt hand. The Undertaker kept quiet, not wanting the Boogeyman to realize that he was close to accomplishing his goal. He had begun cutting at the wood of the staff, hoping to remove the orb from it.

The Boogeyman was now looking around for the Undertaker on the rock formations surrounding him, but then, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face. He looked at his staff, and finally noticed the Undertaker there. 'Taker realized what was about to happen next, but he was not done cutting through the wood.

The Boogeyman's other hand was now coming towards him, and 'Taker had to think of a quicker alternative. Rearing his fist back, he thrust it hard into the rock. Immediately he could feel a sharp burning in his arm, but he forced himself to shrug off the pain and keep reaching. The Boogeyman had now grabbed his leg and was trying to pluck him from the rock. The Undertaker needed to move fast. He didn't know what was going to happen when he did what he was about to do, but he was left with no other choice.

Summoning all the power he could, he unleashed a lightning blast from his hand. The lightning struck the core of the rock, and then it exploded in the Undertaker's face. The Boogeyman screamed out, but the scream was cut off from the Undertaker's hearing as sudden blackness came over him.

HOURS LATER…

The Undertaker came too slowly, and the first thing he realized was that his arm felt like it was on fire. The next thing he noticed was that he was now back in the Dream Institute, as the sun was beginning to come up. The Undertaker slowly made his way to his feet, and then he realized something else. He was holding the remnants of the Boogeyman's staff. But the Boogeyman was nowhere to be found.

There were pieces of the rock lying on the floor, which the Undertaker collected. He would need to study this for later. As of right now, he could hear the sounds of cars approaching. Perhaps the morning staff arriving to work. Whatever it was, the Undertaker would need to disappear. Mark Calaway would soon be back in control of his body, and it would not do for the human to have to explain what had happened here. The Boogeyman had escaped, but, as he climbed out the window to the roof, the Undertaker vowed that he would find him again, and he would put a stop to his evil.


	10. The New Player

Mark Calaway made it back to his apartment just as the sun was coming up. He stripped his costume off and slumped down on the bed, thinking about the events of the previous night.

The Boogeyman had escaped, and was still out there somewhere, plotting another nefarious plot, or perhaps a revenge scheme against the Undertaker. Unfortunately, neither Mark nor the Undertaker had any clue as to where he could be found, which meant that they would have to wait for him to make his movement before they engaged him again. And with his new powers, the Boogeyman was sure to be a bigger threat than he had ever been.

But that was only one of the many thoughts that were on Mark's mind as he lay on the bed, resting from his fight with the Boogeyman. He was becoming increasingly concerned about his new adversary, the pretender to Mankind's mantle. Mark couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that this new player had not even begun to play his hand. And Mark knew, deep within his soul, that when he did decide to make his move, even the Undertaker would not be ready for what was about to happen…

ELSEWHERE…

The Octagon was the most dangerous maximum security prison in the world.

Beneath its hulking mass of steel and high-tech security were some of the most destructive and dangerous beings in the world. Villains like Papa Shango, Gangrel, Abyss, and many others were often incarcerated here after frequent battles with the Undertaker.

The new Mankind had never been here before, but he knew that the original Mankind Mick Foley was quite familiar with the layout, as he has escaped from the penitentiary on multiple occasions to rain terror on the city and the Undertaker. It had been quite simple for the new Mankind to track down all the information Foley had had on the prison. With such information at his fingertips, breaking into the Octagon had been quite easier. Dispatching the security guards had not been as simple, but Mankind had multiple weapons at his disposal, and was able to eliminate the opposition that stood between him and his objective.

It was a long way down to the ultra-high security wing, where the worst of the worst were imprisoned, and the man that Mankind needed to find was the epitome of that description. Mankind made his way to the last cell at the far end of the hallway, ignoring the screams from above and the alarms going off around him.

As he stood in front of the glass-like panel that made up the front of the cell, he could see the prisoner inside stirring as he suddenly realized he had a visitor. The man in the cell stood up and lumbered over to the panel, peering back at Mankind with a look of utter contempt in his eyes.

Mankind knew that his predecessor had had dealings with this man, this monster, before, but this was the first time the new mankind had met him up close. However, he knew that this man had caused the Undertaker no small amount of trouble, and he knew that this man would do worse when given the chance. Far worse.

The man in the cell crossed his massive arms and glared at Mankind, saying nothing, but awaiting an explanation as to why Mankind was standing in front of his cell. His features were hidden behind a red metal mask, but Mankind could feel his glare burning into his very soul.

"I know who you are" Mankind stated, "And I know why you're here. I know who is responsible for putting you here. I know you would do anything to take your revenge on that man. I am here simply to give you that very opportunity. Are you interested?"

The man in the cell cocked his head to one side, contemplating such a bizarre offer, before nodding his head.

Having received his answer, Mankind pulled out the keycard he had stolen from the chief of Octagon security and slid it into the slot on the right-hand side of the cell. The panel opened noiselessly, and the man stepped out into the hallway, never taking his gaze off Mankind.

"Go" Mankind said. "Go, and take your revenge on the man who has put you through so much! Find him, and show him suffering far worse than anything he has experience before!"

The man in the mask nodded again, flashing Mankind one last glare before lumbering down the hallway to the elevator leading to the upper levels. Mankind could hear the monster led out a roar as he climbed up the elevator shaft, dead set on finding his enemy.

Mankind allowed himself a sick smile. This monster would hunt down the Undertaker, taking the city with him if he had to. He would beat and batter the Deadman, leaving him just weak enough for Mankind to deliver the final blow.

As he glossed over his plan, Mankind began to laugh. A sick, horrid, sinister laugh.

Yes, he and the Undertaker were set on a collision course. But first, the Undertaker would have to deal with the obstacle Mankind had just sent into his path.

The Undertaker would have to deal with KANE.


	11. Paul Bearer

As nighttime came around once again, the Undertaker rushed along the rooftops of the city, his only fixation being his destination and his mission.

He had very little in the way of leads, and even less information on his new opponent. He needed to find someone with answers. However, since the original Mankind was dead, the Undertaker would not able to ask him about his protégé. But there was someone who had been closely associated with Mankind who would know something. The idea of going to this man for help did not appeal to the Undertaker at all, but he was out of options and out of time. Whatever this new Mankind was planning, it was going to do down soon, and the Undertaker was determined to put a stop to it before it resulted in the loss of innocent life. That meant going to one of the few very people with more knowledge than him regarding Mankind.

That meant going to Paul Bearer…

…and beating some answers out of him.

To say that the history between the Undertaker and Bearer was horrific would be a major understatement. The Undertaker hated Paul Bearer with everything that he was. There were few people on this Earth who had taken more from him (and Mark) than Bearer, and if the Undertaker had his way, Paul would be festering in an unmarked grave in the middle of the desert.

But Bearer had employed a time-honored tactic in order to save his own ass. He had hidden in plain sight. He had made himself a public figure, known to just about everyone in the city.

Paul Bearer has become a businessman, owning and running several business, both large and small, both legal and illicit, and was a huge name in the city. He was featured in magazines and newspapers, but no one had a single clue as to his true nature. No one except the Undertaker, that is. Only the Undertaker knew of the blood on Paul Bearer's hands. Only the Undertaker the nature of Paul's most heinous crimes, and they paled in comparison to any human's worst imaginings. Paul deserved a punishment far worse than death, and it pained the Undertaker that he was not able to administer it.

For doing so would bring all kinds if unwanted attention down on the Undertaker, attention that he could not afford nor endure. So until he could find a way to get Bearer out of the public spotlight, he would have to allow him to keep his pathetic life.

As it stood, now Bearer could prove himself useful. At least now there was some reason for Bearer to be alive.

The Undertaker was nearing Paul Bearer's casino the Golden Urn, where he was throwing a huge gala in order to keep his benevolent business image. All the Undertaker needed to do was get Bearer alone, and he would force whatever answers Bearer had out of him. Painfully, if need be.

The thought of "having" to torture Bearer brought a rare smile to the Undertaker's lips.

'Taker landed on the roof of the casino, then made his way down through one of the air vents. He punched his way through the first air duct he came to, and then leapt down into a long hallway. The Undertaker quickly made his way to Paul Bearer's office. He knew the layout well, as he had been here multiple times to confront Bearer on any number of his criminal activities. If he was lucky, Bearer would already be in his office. If he wasn't, then he would have to wait for him. And if he was really unlucky, then Bearer would have security with him, which would necessitate a lot of noise. And a lot of attention.

The Undertaker was almost to Bearer's office, keeping a watch on any security guards that might be roaming the halls. On such an important occasion, most of the security would be downstairs protecting Bearer, with only a few of them guarding the rest of the building. The Undertaker would be able to easily dispatch the guards upstairs, but if Bearer alerted the heavier security, 'Taker was going to have a major fight on his hands.

The Undertaker crept around the corner leading to Bearer's office, watching as a security guard strolled away from the double doors, walking down to the opposite side of the hall. The Undertaker waited for the guard to drop out of sight before he sprinted to the doors and entered Bearer's office. It was empty, so the Undertaker went to the desk and turned on to the security feed on Bearer's computer. He now had access to all the cameras in the building, including the ones in the main lobby, where Bearer was shaking hands with the city's political figures and celebrities. The Undertaker could make out the two bodyguards shadowing him, and there were several more bodyguards in various places around the room.

The Undertaker hit a button on the intercom next to Bearer's computer, and saw one of Bearer's bodyguards to touch his earpiece.

"What is it?" a gruff voice barked from the intercom.

"We have a situation in the upstairs office" the Undertaker responded, taking care to raise his voice a bit so as to keep his recognizable baritone from the guard's attention. "We need Mr. Bearer to come upstairs. It's a personal matter."

"What kind of matter? Mr. Bearer is busy."

"Trust me, Mr. Bearer will want to handle this personally. It concerns an "old friend" of his."

"What kind of "friend"?" the guard asked.

"Just tell him to get up here. He needs to handle this himself."

"Fine. I'll ask him."

The Undertaker watches as the bodyguard touched Bearer on the shoulder, and the two exchanged words. Bearer made a motion with his hands, then two of the bodyguards headed upstairs, while Bearer's bodyguards stayed with him. The Undertaker turned off the computer, then made got himself out of sight as the two guards entered the office and searched around.

"I don't see anyo…" one of the guards started. Then the Undertaker grabbed him from behind and slammed him into the wall. The other guards went to raise his firearm, but the Undertaker was too fast. In an instant, he had crosses the room, wrenched the gun out of the guard's grasp, then grasped his throat. With his other hand, the Undertaker held the guard's gun to his head.

"Tell Bearer to get his ass up here! NOW!" the Undertaker barked.

The guard fumbled for his earpiece. "T-t-t-elll B-b-bearer to…"

"Keep that stammer out of your voice!" the Undertaker yelled.

"Tell Bearer he needs to get up here, right now."

"Alright, he's on his way. But this had better be good. This is an important function" the downstairs bodyguard responded.

The guard clicked off his earpiece, and then the Undertaker knocked him out.

He could now hear the footsteps as more of the bodyguards headed upstairs. The Undertaker turned on the computer again to make sure that Bearer was with them. Bearer was in the middle of a four-guard entourage that was quickly making its way to the office. The Undertaker rushed to the doors, making it just as the guards reached it. He yanked open the doors, grabbed Paul Bearer by the shirt, and threw him back into the office before the guards had time to register that there was an intruder. The Undertaker slammed the doors shut, then wrapped his chain around the handles to keep the doors closed. He could hear the guards banging on the doors, barking orders into their earpieces as he made his way back to the terrified Bearer, who was frantically scurrying away from the Undertaker.

The Undertaker picked up Bearer by his shirt and lifted him up. Bearer tried to speak, but the Undertaker cut him off.

"Someone tried to take me out a couple of days ago, someone dressed like Foley! What do you know?" the Undertaker yelled.

"I don't know what you're talking…" Bearer started.

"Don't lie to me! What do you know?"

"I swear, I don't know…"

The Undertaker slammed Paul Bearer into his desk.

"I'm going to ask you one last time! WHAT? DO? YOU? KNOW?"

The Undertaker could see the terror in Bearer's eyes as he finally caved in.

"Someone came to me a couple months ago!" he squealed. "He asked me to sell him all of Foley's old stuff. His mask, his costume, his weapons, all of it. He had money! Lots of it!"

"Go on!" the Undertaker demanded.

"He wanted information about Mankind. Told me he was going to take you out! Once and for all! How could I not!"

The Undertaker suddenly noticed that Bearer's fear was now gone. It had now been replaced by sheer evil as Bearer continued to rant. Laughing maniacally.

"I even sold him some of my new ones! I didn't know what I was going to do when you killed Foley. After all, he was my weapon against you. But then, he appeared. He was the answer to my prayers!"

"Who was? What was his name? What does he want with me?" the Undertaker demanded, but Bearer continued his rant as if he had not heard him.

"He was all too eager to replace Foley as my weapon! He hated you as much as Foley did, as much as I do. Hell, maybe even more! I taught him all the tricks! I taught him all the plans! I gave him all the notes! He's every bit the maniac that Foley was! He'll succeed where Foley failed! He will deliver us the end of the Undertaker!"

"A NAME, BEARER! I WANT A NAME! WHO IS HE?" the Undertaker bellowed, as he heard the guards banging against the doors, trying to break the doors down. It sounded as though they were close to succeeding.

"It doesn't matter what his name is!" Bearer screeched. "You'll get to meet him soon enough! After all, he knows everything about you!"

"GODDAMN IT, BEARER! HIS NAME!"

The guards were about to breach the door. The Undertaker didn't have a lot of time.

"Oh, he knows all about you, Calaway! He knows your enemies! He knows your powers! He knows your life!"

"What! You didn't…" the Undertaker started, but deep in his soul, he already knew…

"Ohhh, yes! He knows where you work! He knows where you live! He knows about you little girlfriend, Mar…"

SMASH!

The bodyguards had made it through the doors and were now opening fire on the Undertaker.

The Undertaker launched Paul Bearer into the incoming guards and made his way to the big windows overlooking the city. As he smashed through them, he could hear Bearer scream one last thing amidst the hail of gunfire.

"He will kill you, Deadman! Copeland will succeed where Foley failed! He will kill you!"

That was the last statement ringing in the Undertaker's ears as he sailed out the window and down to the streets below. The guards were still firing as the Undertaker spread his cape and began to glide the rest of the way down, hearing the bullets whizzing past him as he sailed like a giant bad through the midst of skyscrapers.

Soon, he couldn't hear the bullets anymore.

All he could hear were the last statements that Paul Bearer had said to him.

The Undertaker now realized that he was in a lot more trouble than he had earlier believed…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	12. Attack of the Monster

The Undertaker tore across the rooftops at super-speed, leaping the skyscrapers with inhuman agility as he raced towards Maria's apartment. The words of Paul Bearer continued to ring in his head as he unleashed his chain to hook onto the rooftop of one of the buildings and swung across the night sky.

The Undertaker wished he had thought to bring Mark's cell phone with him, so that he could warn Maria to get out of her apartment. It was rather strange to the Undertaker, though, to be feeling this kind of emotion. He had never felt anything like it. The entity could feel the concern and the love that the human Mark Calaway had for this woman Maria. He could feel the fear in the human's heart as he prayed for her safety. The emotions emanated from the core of the human into the Undertaker, pushing his sense of urgency as he headed toward Maria.

He was not sure what he was expecting to find once he got there, but he knew that it was not going to be pleasant.

ELSEWHERE…

Maria Kanellis had just come home from a long day at work. As she turned the key to her apartment and walked into the darkened room, her thoughts turned, as they had for most of the day, to Mark. He had been acting strange the last few days, and she was starting to worry about him. She was just making a mental note to herself to stop by his apartment in the morning and check on him when she flicked on the light of her kitchen and was greeted by the sight of a large man standing there.

"Who the hell are you?" she shrieked as she shrank back in terror.

The man made no reply, but gave a low growl as he began to lurch toward her. The light of the kitchen glowed on his metal red mask and long black hair as he advanced. Maria backed out of the kitchen, pulling a can of mace from her purse, but the man moved on her with speed unbefitting of a man his size. Maria screamed out as the man knocked the mace out of her hands, then wrapped a gloved hand around her neck. Maria began to panic as the strange man began to choke the life out of her. A wave of terror she had never felt before washed over her as the man's hand squeezed harder, constricting her throat and driving the oxygen from her. Just as she felt the world go black, she heard a crash from her window, a thud in front of her, and then the hand was off her throat.

Maria slumped to the ground, coughing as she clutched her throat, and then looked up. The shock of what she saw left her in shock. Standing over her was another man, this one dressed all in black, with a cape and hood and a bizarre Phantom-like mask.

"Get out of h…" the caped man started to say, but the larger man lunged at him, using a massive fist to send him flying across the room, smashing into the door of Maria's bedroom. The man in the red mask turned towards her, but the man in black charged him with unusual speed, sending both of them crashing through Maria's window onto the street below.

Maria took a moment to stare at the empty space where the two men had just been, then passed out.

OUTSIDE…

The Undertaker had no time to register the shock of seeing Kane in Maria's apartment before he leapt into action. Now as he and Kane traded blows as they fell to the streets below, he took a quick moment to wonder how Kane had managed to break out of the high-security prison where he was supposed to be incarcerated, and how he managed to find Maria, before driving those thoughts from his mind. There was one thing, and one thing only, that he needed to concentrate on now: surviving Kane and keeping him away from Maria.

The two men landed onto a taxi cab, the crash of their bodies slamming into the car resounding for miles around. There were a few people on the streets, who fled in terror as Kane kicked the Undertaker off of him and lumbered out into the street. The Undertaker flipped in mid-air, landing in front of Kane and assuming his best fighting stance.

Kane made a sound that somewhat resembled a guttural laugh, and then reached for something on his wrist that the Undertaker had not noticed before. It was some kind of device, with some buttons and two tubes coming out of it. The Undertaker now realized that the tubes stretched to the back of Kane's metal mask.

Suddenly, the Undertaker realized what the device was. He advanced on Kane as fast as he could…

But he was too late…

Kane pressed a button on the wrist device, and suddenly, something began to stream from the tubes into his mask. And then, right before the Undertaker's very eyes, Kane's body began to expand. His muscles grew larger, and his body got larger. The Undertaker could only stare in shock as Kane's body changed. He was now several feet larger than the Undertaker, and as he began to advance towards the Undertaker, his footsteps leaving imprints on the asphalt of the street, the Undertaker only had one thought…

_Oh, shit…_

NEXT: The Undertaker vs. Kane!


	13. Kane

The Undertaker and Kane charged at each other as the people on the street scattered in a panic.

As the two built up speed, the Undertaker was hard at work trying to formulate a battle plan, but nothing came to him as Kane slammed into him. He grabbed the Undertaker in a bear-hug and continued to charge, slamming through every obstacle in his path. The Undertaker lost count of the debris that smashed against his head as Kane continued his momentum.

At last, the Undertaker managed to wrench one of his hands free, and reached for his grapple. It was a small, hand-held object that somewhat resembled a crossbow, and it was capable of launching a chain that the Undertaker could then retract. The Undertaker launched the chain grapple around a passing building and pressed the retract trigger, using it to pull himself free from Kane's steel-like grip.

Suddenly, Kane realized what the Undertaker had done, but it took him a while to stop his charge. The Undertaker took advantage of it, lifting a parked car over his head and launching it at Kane. Kane swatted the car aside like a tennis ball, but the Undertaker was already pressing his advantage, charging at Kane and hitting him in the solar plexus with a lightning-quick series of punches.

Unfortunately, Kane was slightly quicker, and grabbed the Undertaker's fist mid-punch. He then launched him over his head and let go, sending the Undertaker flying through the window of a nearby apartment complex. As the Undertaker hit the floor and reeled, trying to get his bearings back, he could hear the _thump, thump, thump_ of Kane slowly stalking toward the building. The Undertaker knew he needed to get to the shadows fast. H e wasn't making any headway taking Kane head-on like this, especially with that serum pumping through Kane's veins.

Kane's fist smashed through a nearby wall as the Undertaker headed up the stairs and out of sight. As he heard the sound of Kane making his way through the wall, the Undertaker focused his concentration and called upon his supernatural abilities.

One by one, the lights of the building started to go out from the top floor down, until the entire complex was engulfed in complete darkness. Kane let out an animalistic roar, letting his frustration known to everyone within earshot. He felt around, trying to make contact with something, anything, but he had no idea where he was, or where his opponent was.

The Undertaker, however, could see just fine in the darkness, and moved silently down the stairway directly above Kane, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As soon as Kane's back was turned to him, the Undertaker leapt down onto his back and grasped at the tube that was connected to Kane's mask.

Kane felt the impact, and immediately realized what the Undertaker was trying to do. He grasped behind him, trying to get a hold of the Deadman, but the Undertaker was able to stay out of reach. Unfortunately, he still couldn't disconnect the tube. It was welded to the mask to well, and 'Taker realized that he was not going to have this window for too long.

He dodged another blind blow from Kane, and then delivered a strike of his own, and then another. Kane continued to swing out at wherever he thought the Undertaker might be, but the Undertaker was moving too fast and timing his strikes too well, trying to keep Kane guessing in order to keep his advantage. He needed to buy time to get the tube out.

But Kane had had enough. He thrust his fist down, slamming into the ground and grasping the floorboard. Wrenching up, he tore the floorboards up, causing the Undertaker, who was about to make another attempt at the tube, to lose his balance. Kane heard the sound of the Undertaker hitting the ground and struck, bringing his fists to slam into the Undertaker's body as he lay disoriented on the ground. Kane then brought his fists down again, and again, and again, and the Undertaker could feel every impact to his very core. He was pretty sure some of his ribs were broken.

As Kane began to bring his fists down again, the Undertaker managed to kick up, striking Kane in the fast as 'Taker rolled away from him. Kane grabbed the Undertaker's cape, and used it to fling him back outside onto the street. The Undertaker slammed into a streetlamp and slumped. He managed to pick himself up, just in time to see Kane charging out of the building like a mad bull, heading straight for him.

This time, however, the Undertaker executed a leap-frog over Kane, and Kane smacked into the street lamp. As his opponent reeled, the Undertaker ripped another streetlamp out of the ground and smashed Kane with it. Kane roared out in pain as the Undertaker went in for another strike.

This time, Kane grabbed the streetlamp and wrenched it out of the Undertaker's grasp, and then charged again. Once again, the Undertaker was able to side-step him, but Kane still managed to take him down with a clothesline that 'Taker had not seen coming. The Undertaker was able to recover quickly and rushed at Kane.

The two brothers exchanged thunderous blows, neither one giving an inch or gaining an advantage. To the observers who had managed to find a safe place out of danger and where now watching the fight in awe, it was as if there was nothing but pure hatred being projected from both men. But one particular observer had a different viewpoint.

Hidden in one of the alleyways as he watched the fight continue, Mankind watched his plan in action, mentally considering the possible outcomes. So far, Kane was doing his job to perfection, distracting the Undertaker, weakening him to the point that he would be ripe for the final blow. Mankind could see the toll that the fight was taking on the Undertaker. He could see the effects that Kane's super-strong blows were having. The longer this fight continued, the more the Undertaker would lose his advantage. And Mankind knew that the Undertaker knew that, too.

However, the outcome was of no consequence to him. More than likely, the Undertaker would best Kane, as he often had before. But by that time, Mankind would be ready. He would be prepared for the endgame, and he would be set to deliver the killing stroke. Now, all he needed was one last player in this game, and he would be ready for the final battle. As the fight raged on, Mankind stalked off to find his one last element.

IN THE STREET…

The Undertaker was not gaining any headway here, and he knew. He needed to shut Kane down and fast, which meant he needed to get that tube out. As long as the serum was continually flowing through Kane's system, this fight would continue to favor Kane. The Undertaker needed to take a drastic measure.

An idea popped into the Undertaker's mind. It was not something he relished, as he was above using such cheap tactics in a fight, but he needed to end this fight quickly. He ducked another swipe by Kane, and then dropped down and delivered a low blow to Kane's groin. Kane roared in pain and dropped to his knees, holding his lower region. It was quite obvious that Kane had not expected this move, and the Undertaker wasted no time in taking advantage. Grabbed the space between the eyeholes of Kane's mask and bracing his book against Kane's chest, the Undertaker summoned every single ounce of strength he could muster and pulled as hard as he could.

CCCRRRRRRSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!

The Undertaker pulled the entire front of Kane's mask off, and then nailed a huge right cross to his brother's scarred face. Kane roared out, even louder than before. He was now in overwhelming pain, but the Undertaker wasn't done. He grabbed the tube attached to the back of the mask and ripped it out. There was a disgusting gurgling sound as the serum that fed Kane his strength spewed out on the ground. The effects on Kane's body were immediate. As his body began to shrink down and his muscles began to contract back to their original size. Soon, Kane was back to his original form.

He tried to crawl away as the Undertaker angrily stalked toward him and grabbed him by the neck.

"I have one question, and if you want to live through this, you will answer it" the Undertaker stated, his rage apparent in every word.

Kane only glared at him.

"How did you get out?"

Kane reached down and pulled something out of the waistband of his tights, and the Undertaker snatched it out of his hand.

It was a card, and on the card, there was a familiar emblem. The Undertaker knew it well. It had been an endless source of torment for him several years ago.

It was Mankind's logo.

The Undertaker did not respond, but simply lifted his boot and brought it to slam into the side of Kane's head, knocking him unconscious. The Undertaker could hear the sounds of police sirens and helicopter units approaching now that the battle was over. Right now, he would love nothing more than to dispose of Kane once and for all, but Mark Calaway's conscience wouldn't let him. This was his brother, the only family he had left, even if he was a raging psychopath, So for now, the Undertaker would have to be content with getting Kane ready for his trip back to prison.

LATER…

The Undertaker watched from a nearby rooftop as a special unit arrived to take Kane into custody. The local police had been more than happy to stand guard while Kane was unconscious, contrasting with their earlier attitude to stay hidden when he had been battling like the Undertaker. 'Taker didn't blame them, of course. They were not prepared for someone like Kane, and they would have been slaughtered had they been foolish enough to interfere. But now Kane was back in custody, and the Undertaker was on the trail of the man who had facilitated Kane's early release.

He knew that this new Mankind impersonator was behind this. He had wanted the Undertaker to know it was him.

And now he knew where he was. He knew where Mankind had kept his little calling cards.

The Undertaker was going to find this man, and he was going to send him to meet his mentor.

One way or another, this was going to end tonight.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	14. The Final Player

Maria Kanellis arrived at her apartment from the grocery store later that night, unaware of the events that had been taking place elsewhere. Her mind was miles away, specifically on her boyfriend and the strange manner in which he had been acting. As she went to place her key in the lock, she noticed that her door was already open.

There was someone already in the apartment.

"Hello?" Maria called out as she cautiously opened the door and crept in. Almost immediately, she noticed was the dark figure sitting in her living room.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked. "And what are you doing in my apartment?"

The mysterious figure said nothing, but remained where he was, as if ignoring her.

"Hey, I asked you a question" Maria said as she put down her bags and flicked on the light, only to find the light wouldn't turn on.

"I'm a… friend of your boyfriend's, Maria" the figure finally spoke.

"You're friends with Mark?" Maria asked. "I didn't realize he had many friends. But that still doesn't explain why you just broke into my home."

"Well, I was waiting for you."

Maria was beginning to get a strange feeling from this man, and started to make her way back towards the door.

"Waiting for me?" she stammered. "What for?"

"I think we three need to sit down and have a little… discussion" the man said as he finally stood up.

"We three?"

"You, me, and Mark. I think we're going to have a lot to talk about."

Maria was too frightened to listen to anymore, and raced towards the door. But unbelievably enough, the man got to it first and slammed the door closed. Maria couldn't make out his face in the dark, but he seemed to be wearing some sort of mask.

"What do you want from me? Just leave me alone!" she screamed out.

"It's not just you I want."

"Are you talking about Mark?" Maria asked, backing away from the stranger. "You stay away from him! He's done nothing to you!"

At this, the man let out a hoarse laugh, the sound of it sending chills up Maria's spine.

"Then you know absolutely nothing about him, do you?" the stranger said. "But I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about me when we see him. That is, right before kill him."

Maria went for her purse, where she kept her mace, but once again, the stranger was too fast for her. He slapped the purse away from her, then grabbed her by the neck and slammed her up against the wall.

"Like I said" Mankind said as Maria began to lose consciousness, "we have some matter to discuss. We're reaching the endgame here, Maria, and I'm afraid you're going to have to be my instrument in the Undertaker's downfall."

Maria didn't hear his last statement as blackness finally overtook her.

LATER THAT NIGHT….

The Undertaker had finally reached his destination: the boiler room of one of the oldest abandoned warehouses in the city. This had been the old Mankind's hideout, the place where he came up with all his plans, the place where he'd brought his various victims to die.

Though he didn't want to admit it, the Undertaker felt a very human level of discomfort at being back here. This had been Mankind's domain, and he had known this place like the back of his hand. The numerous battles they had had here had always left the Undertaker at a disadvantage. There was no telling how much this new Mankind knew the area, but the Undertaker was sure that he would not have lured him back here if he didn't believe that the advantage favored him.

"SO I SEE YOU FINALLY MADE IT!" a voiced bellowed from somewhere within the room. The acoustics in the boiler room made it hard to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"Indeed, I did" the Undertaker replied. "So come out here. Let us finish this."

"In time, in time" the voice replied. The Undertaker thought he could see a shadow moving along the walls, but the lighting in the room made it difficult to tell. "But first, I want to play a game."

"I have no patience for anymore of your games" the Undertaker responded as he continued his search for the source of the voice. "Do you realize the disaster you could have caused by releasing Kane? How many innocent people could have been killed?"

"Ask me if I care" the voice responded. "Kane was simply a means to an end, and he has served his purpose. Even now, I can see the toll his presence has taken on you. The damage your fight with him has taken on you. You're weakened, Undertaker, and you know it."

"Perhaps" the Undertaker stated. "But no matter what condition I am in, I'm still more than strong enough to take on a second-rare impersonation of a murderous lunatic."

The Undertaker headed further into the deepest recesses of the boiler room, keeping his eyes open for any sign of his opponent.

"What is the purpose of all of this?" the Undertaker continued. "Why idolize Mankind, of all people? What is it you think you will gain from this, other than the opportunity to end up the way he did?"

"You still haven't figured it out, yet?" the voice replied. "Interesting. I was told you were supposed to be smart."

"Told by whom?" the Undertaker asked, as he noticed a figure up ahead. "Did someone tell you to do this? Was it Foley?"

"Perhaps" the voice said as the Undertaker headed toward the figure. "You seem to have a lot of questions. But sadly, you won't get all the answers before I send you to the grave."

The Undertaker was about to retort, until he realized who the figure was.

It was Maria. She was unconscious, strapped to what looked like an electric chair.

"It is a shame that you had to involve her in this" Mankind jeered, creeping up unnoticed from behind the Undertaker.

"And now you both are going to die here…" Mankind finished as he raised his knife and struck…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	15. Mankind, Part I

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** At long last I've finally gotten around to updating this. With work and school I've had absolutely no time to write, but now that I've gotten some free time, hopefully I can finish this story and work on some of my other ones.

Anyway, onward…

The Undertaker barely had time to get out of the way as Mankind brought the knife to bear. Luckily, he had seen Mankind's reflection in an old mirror just before he attacked; otherwise he would be in a significant amount of pain right now.

However, Mankind did not register surprise at the Undertaker's evasion; rather, he pressed the attack, forcing the Undertaker to go on the defensive. 'Taker blocked Mankind's oncoming assault, dodging and countering each swipe and slash while waiting for his opponent to give him an advantage, all the while trying to work out a plan to get Maria out of that chair.

As Mankind continued his flurry of attacks, the Undertaker waited for his opportunity, and when Mankind was going for a backhand slash, the Undertaker ducked underneath it, grabbed his arm, and used it to propel his enemy into one of the pipes. 'Taker then used Mankind's sudden shock to pry the knife from his hand and send it skidding across the darkened floor of the boiler room.

Mankind kicked off from the pipe and swiped at the Undertaker with another knife he had pulled from his coat. He caught 'Taker off guard, leaving a huge slash mark across his chest as the Undertaker fought to keep from screaming out. He was able to focus long enough to block Mankind's next swipe, then dodged a swipe and speared him into the wall. Pinned against the wall, Mankind tried to bring the knife down on the Undertaker's head, but the Undertaker released the hold, and then began his own assault.

With a right hook, a left jab, an uppercut, and then another hook, the Undertaker began pounding away at Mankind's face, not giving him an inch, or even the slightest opening. He knew he needed to end this quickly, for there was no telling how many other weapons mankind has lying about. More importantly, he needed to get Maria out of here.

Mankind blocked an incoming punch and threw the knife at the Undertaker's face. The Undertaker dodged the throw, but then realized that Mankind had run off, possibly to get another weapon. The Undertaker gave chase, but was stopped by a huge pipe Mankind has sent swinging towards his head. The Undertaker dropped down, hearing the crack as the pipe connected with a concrete wall, and then Mankind was on him again.

Mankind kept the Undertaker on the floor with a boot to the skull, and then began stomping away, ranting maniacally as he assaulted the Undertaker. 'Taker couldn't hear what he was saying, for he was having trouble concentrating, still reeling from the various kicks to the head. At last the Undertaker was able to block an incoming kick and twist the leg, sending Mankind to the ground. The Undertaker was about to press the advantage when Mankind kneed him in the groin, laughing as he stumbled to his feet and sauntered off.

Although he was in pain, the Undertaker managed to make it to his own feet and stumble after Mankind. He was hell-bent on breaking every bone in Mankind's body, but was stopped short at the sight of Mankind standing next to the chair holding a now-conscious Maria, who was screaming for help.

"Let her go" the Undertaker demanded, advancing on Mankind. "I will not ask again."

Mankind gave a hoarse laugh.

"Tell me, Deadman, does she know who you are?" Mankind asked, a sick smile spreading across his face. "Who you really are? Does she know about the things you do? Does she know what you've done to people like me…"

"…Does she know I punish the wicked?" Undertaker interjected, stopping when he was directly face to face with Mankind. "No, she doesn't. This has nothing to do with her. This is between you and me."

"THIS HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HER!" Mankind screamed out, as he launched a kick that sent the Undertaker back. "You took my life from me! You sent me to Hell! So now, I'm going to take everything from you!"

Mankind walked away from the chair, towards a cobbled-together control panel that the Undertaker now noticed was hooked up to the chair.

"I'm going to take the woman you love away from you, just like you took my life away from me! And when you're consumed with grief, and can't take it anymore, I'm going to send you to join her in Hell!"

And with that, Mankind threw a switch on the panel, and the chair began to spark with electricity…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	16. Mankind, Part II

Just as the chair began to hum with life, a silver blade flew from the Undertaker's hand, lodging itself into Mankind's shoulder. There was not a moment of hesitation from the Undertaker, as he launched himself over to the control panel and shut the switch off.

The hum grew silent as the electricity died down. However, the Undertaker did not get a moment to relax, for Mankind launched himself at him in renewed fury. He speared the Undertaker to the ground, laying into him with a vicious barrage of lefts and rights. However, the Undertaker blocked an incoming punch, and then brought his knees up and used his feet to propel Mankind away from him. As his opponent flew back, the Undertaker sat up, and then propelled himself to his feet to continue the assault.

Mankind was caught off guard by the Undertaker's fist slamming into his face, and then another fist slammed into his gut. He sidestepped the Undertaker's next blow, and then launched a swift kick to the Undertaker's mid-section. The Undertaker caught his leg and, with inhuman strength, used it to propel Mankind across the room, relishing the sound of his body hitting a group of pipes.

Mankind was punch-drunk, and was having trouble getting his bearings. He needed to find another knife, or any kind of weapon for that matter, but the Undertaker knew that he had the advantage know, and he needed to press it. He lunged at the recovering Mankind, attempting to tackle him to the ground, but Mankind sidestepped him, grabbing his cape as he ran by, and swung him into another set of pipes.

The Undertaker used his hand to swipe the cape from Mankind's grasp, and then through a stiff punch to Mankind's chest. This blow caught Mankind by surprise, and as he stumbled back, the Undertaker followed up with another volley of punches that put his opponent on the defensive.

Suddenly, it began to dawn on Mankind that he was in danger of losing this fight. He needed to retreat, escape this room, and regroup for another plan. But first, he was determined to kill the woman in the chair. With that thought rattling through his head, Mankind ducked an incoming punch, and responded with one of his own. The Undertaker then blocked Mankind's next set of incoming blows, and then grabbed the blade that was still lodged in his enemy's shoulder and twisted.

Mankind let out a shriek of pain. The Undertaker made a mental note that this new Mankind had one major difference from the previous one. In the past, the Undertaker's battles with the first Mankind had been grueling, since, on top of his insanity, he seemed to feed on pain; to relish it, even. This was a trait that has made Mankind one of the Undertaker's most challenging opponents. Luckily, this one had not inherited that trait from his predecessor.

The Undertaker continued to twist the blade until Mankind dropped to his knees, and then floored with a hard right to the chin. A vicious kick to the head prevented Mankind from getting back up, and then the Undertaker reached down, grabbed the leather mask from the imposter's face, and pulled it off, revealing the angered face of Adam Copeland, originally known as Edge.

The Undertaker grabbed Edge by the throat and hauled him to his feet.

"I told you before…" the Undertaker said. "…that your quest for revenge would end the same way your predecessor's did. You should have heeded my warning."

With that, the Undertaker slammed his forehead into Edge's, knocking him out. Undertaker then released his throat, and watched as he slumped to the floor.

The Undertaker turned and made his way back to the chair, and Maria, who had been watching the entire scenario in wide-eyed terror, too scared to make even the slightest sound for fear that one or both of these men would turn their attention back to her.

But now that the Undertaker was making his way back to her, she started to scream out, but the sound was muffled by the Undertaker's hand.

"Be silent" he uttered. "I am not here to hurt you. I am going to release you, and then you are going to leave this place and go someplace safe. I will come find you when all is well. Do you understand me?"

Maria nodded, never taking her eyes off the Undertaker.

Using his demonic strength, the Undertaker tore her bindings loose, and then watched as she ran from the chair and towards the entrance the Undertaker has entered from. The Undertaker waited until he heard the door slam, signaling that she had left the room, and then turned his attention back to the man whose misguided ideals has enacted this plan.

Edge was just beginning to come to when he felt the Undertaker grab him by the back of the shirt, pull him to his feet, and drag him across the floor to the electric chair. Edge tried to fight back, but the Undertaker buried a knee into his mid-section, sending him slumping back to the floor.

"I will never stop, you know" Edge muttered, grimacing in pain. "No matter what you do to me, I will never stop coming after you, or those you love. I will do what the original Mankind vowed to do all those years ago. I will keep coming after you until I destroy you. You will never…"

The Undertaker's hand grasping his throat stopped Edge from continuing his statement.

"True" the Undertaker said. "Foley did make a vow to destroy me. I believe his words were "no matter what it took". And he did try, multiple times. He attacked me so many times during those years, that I've lost count of how many battles we had. But bear this in mind, he also failed multiple times. Each and every time he came after me was met with failure. And your attempt has been met with failure."

The Undertaker began to drag Edge across the room again.

"You are wrong about one thing, though" he continued. "You ARE going to stop. You are going back to Hell, where you belong."

The Undertaker threw Edge into the electric chair, and then pulled a long chain from his belt and used it to wrap Edge's arm around one of the armrests.

Edge suddenly realized what was about to happen, and yelled out in protest as he watched the Undertaker make his way to the control panel. Edge's eyes widened as he saw the Undertaker place his hand on the switch.

"And when you get back to Hell," the Undertaker said, holding up the Mankind mask as his other hand rested on the switch. "…be sure to ask him about his many failures; seeing as you two will have all of eternity to compare notes."

Edge screamed "NO, DO…", but it was too late. The Undertaker pulled the switch, and began to head out of the boiler room, listening as the voltage sparked to life, listening as his enemy screamed, listening as the electricity drained the life from him.

And as the door slammed shut behind him, the Undertaker took a moment to examine the Mankind mask, the mask that served as a reminder of some of the most vicious encounters that he had ever had. Mankind had been the source of non-stop horror for the Undertaker for years. And yet, even after Foley's death, this mask continued to haunt him. Even though Mick Foley was gone, Mankind could still exist, and Mankind was still determined to torment the Undertaker and anyone close to him. But as the screaming stopped, the Undertaker made a silent vow to himself that this mask would never trouble him, or anyone else, ever again.

This time, Mankind would rest… in… peace.

TO BE CONCLUDED…


	17. Go

The next morning, Mark Calaway was at the door to Maria's apartment with his fist raised, but he hadn't knocked yet. He had been trying to figure out what to say to her, how to explain what had happened, but he couldn't figure it out. He had never wanted her to come to any harm, but no matter how hard he had tried, she had still been placed in danger. And he couldn't forget about Paul Bearer. He had been the one who had pointed Edge at Maria. It was a sure bet that he would send other enemies of the Undertaker in her direction. Would he be able to protect her should Abyss, or Gangrel, or, dare he think about it, Kane came after her?

As Mark was standing there, trapped in mid-thought, the door opened suddenly, and Maria was standing there.

"Uh, hey" Mark said, immediately chastising himself for such a lame greeting.

"Mark" was all she said.

"Can I come in?"

Maria gaped at him for a moment, and then broke down.

"Do you know what happened to me last night?" she screamed at him. "I was kidnapped by some deranged lunatic! I was almost killed last night! And he said it had something to do with you! And then some other guy in a cape saved me! And I don't know…"

Mark put his hand over mouth to cut her off, and then made his way into the apartment. Ignoring her look of complete shock, he took his hand away and maneuvered her to her couch. After sitting her down, he sat down on the coffee table and took a deep breath.

"Look, I don't know how to explain this in any way that you'll believe me" he said. "Sometimes, I have trouble believing it myself."

"Just tell me what's going on" Maria said, somehow regaining her composure.

Mark took another breath, and then said "I'm possessed by a demon."

Maria just gaped at him, wide-eyed.

Mark had to take yet another breath before continuing. Man, this was harder than he thought it would be.

"At night, this demonic spirit takes over my body, and uses me to fight evil forces from Hell. That man that kidnapped you is one of my… uh, it's… enemies. He escaped from Hell to get revenge on us, and he was using you to get to us. So we took him out, and we saved your life."

Mark waited with bated breath for a reply, but all he got was silence.

"Uh, Maria…"

"Do you honestly expect me to believe any of that?" Maria spat, narrowing her eyes. "Seriously, Mark? Demons?"

Mark held up his hand to stop her.

"Look, I know it's hard… well, it's impossible to believe, but I assure, it is the truth."

"Let's say I do believe, which I don't, by the way. What happens now?

"I don't know" Mark said. "If one of my enemies knows where you are, then there could be others. And I don't know if I can protect you…"

"I don't want protection" Maria stated. "I don't want any of this! I don't want lunatics and demons coming after me!"

"I know" Mark said. "I tried my hardest to keep you from all of this. I've tried to keep people I care about from all of this, but I guess I haven't done that good a job."

"What happened to the man who came after me?" Maria asked.

"He's de… He won't be bothering you anymore."

"Did you kill him?"

"Not me, no. It was…"

"Right, it was the demon possessing you."

"You still don't me, do you? Even after everything you saw last night."

"I don't know what I saw last night" Maria stated. "I couldn't figure out what I was doing there, what any of this had to do with me, or with you."

"It never had anything to do with you" Mark replied. "This was all about getting to me. And I'm so sorry that this ended up involving you."

Maria stayed silent, just staring at him. Then she said "I don't want any of this in my life."

"I know."

"So what do I do?"

Mark thought for a moment, and then said "You leave. You pack up your stuff, and you go where I can't find you. Then none of my enemies will find you, either. You make a new life, an you forget you ever knew me. That's the only way you're going to stay safe."

"I have a life here, Mark. I have a job…"

If you stay here, there's a good chance someone else will find you. Maybe even someone worse than the man from last night. But if you leave, you will be safe, I guarantee it. Because then you won't be anywhere near me."

"Why can't you come with me? Why can't you just leave this stuff behind and leave, too?"

"Because I can't" Mark said, plainly. "It's too late for me now. I have no choice. I have to do this."

"Why? Why does it have to be you?"

"Honestly, it's a long story. And I even if I got into it with you, you wouldn't believe a word of it. Let's just say that something happened to me a long time ago, and it put me in the situation I'm in today."

"So I just go?" Maria asked, staring at the floor.

Mark stood up, and then put his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes.

"Yes, you go. I want you to be safe, and I want you to be as far away from all of this as you can. And if you hang around me, that only invites the possibility of something happening to you. Just pack up your stuff, and go."

Mark kissed Maria as she sat there; still trying to process everything he had just told her.

Mark headed for the door, but as he was about to leave, he turned around.

"You're a good person, Maria, and you didn't deserve any of this. I can't apologize enough for letting any of this come near you."

Maria said nothing as Mark opened the door and walked out of her apartment.

X-X-X-X-X

"_You did the right thing._"

Mark simply stared at the sink as the demon spoke, still reeling from what had just taken place. Then, he looked up.

"Am I ever going to be able to have a normal relationship as long as…"

"_No_" the demon said simply. "_Anyone you become close with will be a victim in this war. You know that. The best thing you can do, human, is separate yourself from the rest of humanity._"

"I CAN'T DO THAT!" Mark yelled out, punching the mirror. "I can't spend the rest of my life alone! I'd go crazy."

"_That is your burden to bear, human_" the demon stated. "_Ours is a solitary path, and we must walk it alone. We have a purpose in this world, and, in order to better serve that purpose, you cannot worry about innocents being caught up in it._"

"So what do I do?

"_That is your concern, not mine. It is of no importance to me. All that matters is that the pretender has been dealt with, and evil has been punished. And now, there is a new development taking place. A fiend called Vampiro has been killing innocents, and needs to be put down. Find him, and I will take care of the rest._"

Mark stared at the demonic reflection in the mirror, and then said…

"Fine. Let's take care of it."

THE END…?


End file.
